The crew of Second Wind completed its 3300 mile journey by land from North Palm Beach, FL to a grand view of the Pacific Ocean from Patrick’s Point State Park north of Arcata, CA.  The trip had taken a few weeks, with important stops at the Jersey Shore and key western National Parks.

Today the Coastal Sitka Spruce forest was fresh and smelling of pines and wild flowers, as long as you stayed downwind of the seals sunning themselves on the rock outcroppings along the shore.  Fishing boat charters, mostly likely out of nearby Trinidad or Eureka harbors bobbed between the outcroppings, surely knowledgable of the local underwater projections and currents.

The morning sea fog was still visible further offshore into the early afternoon as we admired the ruggedness of the California coast. Trail signs indicated recent mountain lion sightings and urged caution to small children and pets.

The vast undeveloped and protected expanse of northern California was a stark contrast to the overdevelopment of the coastal and intracoastal waterways of southern Florida.  A lack of a natural harbors and inland waterways here requires more careful,  weather-aware planning for cruisers.  Our crew will press further north to Oregon and explore possibilities for future cruising utilizing charter boats out the of the Pacific Northwest.